The mortgage products of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks will be combined under plans by National Australia Bank (NAB) to develop a global commodity range
NAB is in the process of implementing a global business model across four continents and 15 countries, including the UK
Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Northern Bank and National Irish Bank are retail outlets of National Australia Bank and form one of the largest foreign-owned financial services groups in the UK and Ireland, employing over 12,000 staff
Gillian Ford, head of corporate affairs of the NAB Group in Europe, said: “Business wise we are moving towards one management structure. The plan is to integrate mortgage products as at the moment we have a different product in each market
“Our intention is to have a global product range in place that can be sold under various brandings around the world. By integrating management and sales structure our products will be able to sell alongside each other
Ford added that as each bank had previously been run on an individual basis, chains of communication had inevitably broken down, leading to crossover resources being wasted. Already Clydesdale and Yorkshire share the same chief executive officer John Wright as do Northern Bank and National Irish Bank Don Price
“In the past nobody has known what is going on. By unifying management structures on both a global and regional levels, we can all share best practice
Ford stressed that products would still be sold under separate branding and that the streamlining of NAB’s management structure was not the start of a global re-branding exercise
“Eventually there will be one management for the four brands but each brand will remain intact. It is how our customers recognise us.” However, she also said that dual branding would not take place, despite Clydesdale and Yorkshire’s intermediary mortgage pack featuring the logos of each bank
Ford stated: “We are not certain how product development is going to move and so are still unsure as to whether a standard mortgage offered by Yorkshire will be the same as a standard mortgage offered by Clydesdale
Clydesdale currently offers a five-year fix of 6.85% while Yorkshire’s five-year fix is 7.05
